We are in Africa!!!
Trip Start
Jun 07, 2008
1
20
188
Trip End
Jun 28, 2009
Fes,
Morocco
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Yesterday we took a ferry from Tarifa, Spain to Tanger, Morocco, in Africa. So we went from one continent, Europe, to another one, Africa - and it only took 35 minutes! When we got there, tons of people were rushing off. We were met by a nice man who drove us to Fes. It is about four hours from Tanger to Fes.
On the drive, we saw kids pulling wheelbarrows, donkeys, people working in fields picking melons, and people fishing, but no one was eating. That is because it is Ramadan, which means that if you are Muslim, you don't eat from 4 in the morning until 8 at night for a whole month, from the new moon to the full moon. Our driver, Morad, could not even drink water or anything. When we stopped for gas, no one was eating or drinking, so we did not get anything either. The reason why they have Ramadan is because they take this month to think of the poor people who don't have food and to know what it feels like.
We also stopped at an old Roman town called Volubulis. It was built about 2000 years ago and was the Roman capital for this area. It was a huge archeological site, which is still being dug up. What is unusual about this Roman town is that usually archeologists find a coliseum, but they have not found one here yet. It was sad to see because over 200 years ago people stole a lot of the marble and things and then it was knocked down by an earthquake in 1722. But the archeologists are working to put it all back together. In the summer, there are tons of huge bird's nests on top of the columns, which were big enough for a turkey vulture. There was a lot of writing in Latin, but it was tough to read it. There was also an aqueduct, which took water all over the city, and paved roads. The Romans were the best road builders in the world.
Then we drove on to Fes. There were lots of people, and we had to get someone from the place where we are staying to guide us here because it was very confusing with lots of small alleys and tiny roads and no signs, except in Arabic. We are staying in a riad, called Riad Fes, which used to be a big mansion, but has been turned into a hotel. There is even an elevator. Imagine having an elevator in your house! There are tons of mosaic tiles and tall ceilings and indoor courtyards and fountains and a pool.
After school this morning, we are going with a guide to see the old city. We walked around a little last night, but because it was Ramadan, the streets were deserted except for a few people, and it was very confusing to figure out the streets, so we came back to the riad for dinner. There was a man playing a sitar, which is a small guitar-like instrument, at dinner. That was nice. My mom was going to go for a run this morning, but she did not go because she thought she might get lost.
Now I am going to have school with Dad on the roof...
